Police say three dead, including gunman, in Oregon mall shooting

ReutersDecember 11. 2012 8:16PMUPDATE, 9:12 p.m.:HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. - The gunman and two others were killed in a shooting on Tuesday at the Clackamas Town Center shopping mall just south of Portland, Ore., police said.

One other person was wounded in the shooting and was transported to a hospital where the individual was treated for traumatic injuries, said Clackamas County Sheriff's spokesman James Rhodes.

"I can confirm that we believe at this point that there was one and only one shooter involved and that shooter is deceased," Rhodes told reporters. "In addition to that we have at least one patient who was taken from the mall with a traumatic injury and at least two that were deceased in addition to the shooter."

An earlier story and updates follow:

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UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.:PORTLAND, Ore. - A sheriff's spokesman says the gunman and two others were killed in a shooting at a busy Oregon mall on Tuesday in the middle of the Christmas shopping season.

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UPDATE, 8:31 p.m.:PORTLAND, Ore. - At least one person has been killed in a shooting at a busy Oregon mall on Tuesday in the middle of the Christmas shopping season, and the gunman has been "neutralized," police said.

"The shooter has been neutralized," Lieutenant James Rhodes of the Clackamas County Sheriff's office told reporters in remarks aired on CNN. "I believe there is at least one deceased, possibly more."

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PORTLAND, Ore. - A gunman opened fire at an Oregon shopping mall outside Portland on Tuesday and several people were believed to have been shot, authorities said, while local media reported two had been killed.

The gunman remained at large at the Clackamas Town Center near the Portland suburb of Happy Valley, said Steve Campbell, spokesman for the city.

"There is an active shooter at the Clackamas Town Center," Campbell said.

The Oregonian newspaper reported on its website that two people had been killed by a man using a semi-automatic rifle who may have also been wearing body armor. The paper said the shooting occurred near the mall's food court.

"The scene outside as I was leaving was just chaos," witness Isabel Valentine told the paper. "Police were everywhere, people were crying and screaming, and we still don't know exactly why this all happened."

Oregonian sports reporter John Canzano, who said he was at the mall when the shooting began, tweeted that "panicked people are running from the mall" and later urged his followers simply to "pray."

Police and SWAT teams established a perimeter around the scene and worked to evacuate the mall as they searched for the shooting suspect. The Clackamas County Sheriff's office urged members of the public to avoid the area.

A spokeswoman for the mall said she had no immediate information and directed calls to law enforcement.

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